Invasion Event: Do Bite the Hand that Feeds You: A Very Normal Interaction Between Wildlife Rangers and Army Rangers Pt.1/3

Thank you to u/SpacePaladin15

Thank you u/BainWrites for organizing the event.

And thanks to u/VenlilWrangler for working together with me! They were a blast to work with on this!

[Part 2]

Memory Transcript Subject: Novarra, Arxur, Wildlife Management Agent, [Colony/Vishnu Ranger Service]

Date [standardized human time]: J̶̛̯͇̞̮͖̝͉̩̟̘͈̪̐͐͒͑̀̌̊̓̕͝͠ͅu̸̜͕̣̺̾̔l̶̢̺͚͉̘͚̫͊̊̌͐͑̓̓̋̄͋͛͝y̷̨̡̝̦̻̙͎̙̤̯̞̒̔̉̆̂͒̒̍͌͜ͅ ̵͇̬͔̟͕̞͎͚̠͕̼̲̱̈́͐̓̏͌̓̾1̶̧͗̊̋̓̑̚͝͠3̵̠̭͍͈̙̻̖̮͕̈́̐̈́̌̓͊̈́͘t̷̪̓̓̄̚̚h̸̬̥͉̗͛̑̊̍̆͛̚̚̕͝,̴̛̯͍̦̞͕͈͙̂͗́̍̈̊̉̈̎͛̐̆ ̶͓̱͖̙̤͔͓̫͈̮̀͛̽͗̑̍̑͘͜͝2̴̙̋͆͌̉̀͘͠1̶̧͚̥̝̭̱̘͙̣̠̟͚̇̓͗̍͑̔̀̀4̵̲͈͍͂͑̽̉̊̊͆͠͝͝3̶̟̦̟̟̏

“...spatch to 658...”

“...ktzz!”

“Dispatch to 658, do you copy?”

“Yeah, Amanda, we copy!”

“What’s the damage out there?”

I looked out over the slope of the mountain. There was a terrible beauty to the sight spread out before us, with the bright sunshine gleaming off of crystalline white. Towering trees of evergreen stood strong on the slope of the mountain, some of their lower branches stripped bare of their blue-tinted needles, while some limbs had been torn free entirely.

“You’re sure we have no beacons going off out here, right?” Jana growled into her headset, eyes narrowed behind her shades against the bright glare bouncing up at us.

“Confirmed. We had no hikers, and no locals reported missing.” The response came through the headset tucked underneath the cap covering my head. The cold bit eagerly through any exposed scales on my body, the thermal wear doing its best to shrug off the wind chill up on the ridge.

“If that’s the case, then I’d say damage is minimal. With no casualties, then the biggest concern is confirming the avalanche is finished.” I examined the slope, trying to intuit where there might still be lingering weak points. We still needed to get down there for a survey after all.

“Understood. Confirm integrity and use the charges as needed. I’ve got your beacons tracked; be careful out there.” The Cheif’s business-like tone shifted into genuine concern at the end, making my tail twitch over the snow.

“Don’t worry, Amanda, I’ll keep my eyes on them!” The cheerful beep echoed, both in my ear on the headset and from behind us. My tail thumped onto the snow gently as I glanced back at Veltep over my shoulder, finding a smirk on his features. The wool around his head and neck was thicker than normal, having let it grow in anticipation of his wintertime visit. The rest of him was sensibly covered in a high-visibility snowsuit, the same as me and Jana.

“The same goes for you Veltep. Follow their lead out there and keep those ears on a swivel.”

“Got it. We'll be careful.” He responded, ears already twitching about his head. We ended the call and switched to radio frequencies before making sure our gear was ready to go.

“This was a hell of a slide.” Jana muttered, still looking out over the slope. “I still can't figure what might have triggered it like this.”

Vel’s ears perked, his tail swaying in question. “Is there something unusual about it?” He looked between us as he asked. I hummed in thought as I looked it over more critically, as Jana responded. “The origin point.” She aimed a blunt claw at the center of the slope. “Doesn't it look like the top edge is nearly a straight line across for a bit there?”

My muzzle dipped into a slight frown as I caught sight of what she pointed out. It wasn't perfect, but there was definitely an unnaturally sharp edge along a section of the top, where the avalanche began. “That's definitely off…”

“It should start at a single point,” she explained, tracing the shape in the air with her finger. “Whatever the trigger, if it was natural, it should have emanated from a single point. An animal slipping on the slope, weight shifting from a rock moving, even a dead branch failing under the weight of the snow. It hits the slope and starts a cascade that goes down in a… parablala? But this looks like something just… suddenly started cutting across the top and sent everything under it sliding down.”

Vel’s ears flicked independent of each other, one up and the other splayed, back and forth. “Alright, that is definitely odd. Do you have any idea what could do that?”

“People. That kind of failure is usually triggered by skiers or snowmobiling.” I rumbled, eyes darting higher up the mountain. “But there's no evidence higher up. No cuts in the snow, no trails.”

“I don't like this.” Jana growled, the scales on the back of her neck rippling.

“Agreed. Radio Amanda that we found an anomaly, and let's check it out.” I shouldered my pack, my tail lashing behind me.

[Advance transcript 30 minutes]

The approach wasn't bad. After moving along the ridge we found a solid place to transfer onto the slope, moving carefully to prevent another slide. Along the way we set a pair of charges in preparation for later. We were about ten meters above the start of the original slide, taking in the sight of the cut through the snow up close.

“That's definitely a snowmobile right?” Jana asked, frowning at the gouge. Half of the track was disturbed from the avalanche, but we could clearly see treads along the length of it. “And there, near the far end, there's what looks like a proper start, the snow failed in a curve, and it looks like the tracks come from that point… but there's nothing leading to it.”

Veltep looked around, his ears flickering. “Could they have come from below? Charging up the mountain and turning there?”

I shook my head. “The trail is too straight. It cuts clean across here; I don't know of any snowmobile that can cut a 90-degree turn at speed.”

Jana scoffed. “Unless they just popped into existence and triggered the avalanche, then I'm not sure how else to explain what we're seeing.” I laughed, but she just looked at me sideways.

“... Wait, are you serious?”

“Maybe?”

“Do either of you hear that?” Veltep's query made us pause, turning to look at him. He had his ears focused off to the side, near the end of the tracks.

“I don't hear anything.” I spoke softly, not wanting to mess with his focus. Jana signaled the same.

“It's muffled, but I hear a ping? Like something tapping on metal.” My eyes widen with surprise and concern. “Do you think it's what we're looking for?” He asked, worry building in his voice.

“Shit, it might be. If they crashed and got swept under the snow…” Aside from possibly being crushed, the biggest issue was air. Drejana was already on the radio, her voice calmly calling for aid. I signaled for Veltep to stay by her and began moving, taking careful steps. Another gestured request for him to provide guidance, maintaining a close watch on him as he provided me with directional cues with his tail. Soon enough I heard the rumble on my own and zoned in on it. I crouched down on all fours, moving along the snow.

I ignored the cold biting into my hands, my claws cutting into the snow. It only took a moment before I picked up on the sound as I closed in, pausing for just a moment. After moving over it for a meter or so, I felt confident that the surrounding area was stable enough to not worry about an after slide here. I signaled back that I had found the spot, still not wanting to shout or make too loud of a noise. I pulled a trowel from the side of my pack and began scooping through the snow.

It only took a few minutes before the trowel scraped against something hard, my tail twitching as I began to swipe away snow, revealing metal. It looked like the ski for the snowmobile. “Fuck.” Looking up, I signaled for Jana and Vel to come over as I began to scoop away more snow, digging around and under.

The snowmobile had tumbled over when the snow fell and was on top of its rider. They could be crushed underneath it, or if they were stupidly lucky, it had acted as a roof to shelter them from the snow. Then all they had to worry about was suffocation.

“There’s no signal.” Jana’s first words as she knelt beside me made me falter. Before I could ask, she just shook her head. “Radio is nothing but static, and calls aren't connecting. There shouldn’t be any significant mineral deposits here, but since we were actively avoiding blasting a hole through the thing when settling, we might have missed something during the scans.”

No aid is coming in then. Not until later at any rate. Eventually the station would realize we were out of contact and send someone, but right now it was just us. I resumed digging, making wide scoops through the snow, quickly joined by Jana and Vel. We did our best to move quickly and carefully, excavating around the snowmobile and trying to find a space underneath.

A gasp broke the silence, Veltep’s wool flaring around his head. Jana and I turned our gaze towards him, instantly catching sight of a gloved hand, its digits flexing due to the recent removal of snow. “Holy fuck, they’re alive,” I hissed before all three of us began excavating in earnest. I slipped the trowel along their arm, attempting to make room to dig around and free them, when the hand slapped my arm in return. I paused, confused, when the hand held up two fingers, shaking side to side for emphasis.

“There are two of them in there!” Jana hissed, stopping herself from shouting.

“Fuck, okay, both of you start digging a little further around; we need to move some of this snow to prevent it from falling in on them; they must have an air pocket in there.” Vel and Jana both moved quickly, trowels clutched tight at they began scooping snow away from either side. I clutched the gloved hand, giving a squeeze before curling the fingers together, shaping it into a thumbs up. I assumed they got the message because they quickly relaxed.

We dug. Moving with purpose, we scooped out snow, pushing it aside as we widened the hole. I focused around the arm, slowly revealing a snowsuit in winter camo, getting all the way down to past the elbow before snow started to crumble apart and slip into the space below. I took advantage of the gap, slipping both hands through, shoulders burning as I essentially ripped the hole apart, plowing a swath of snow free and shoving it behind me on either side.

Once I had found a suitable spot to grasp the arm, I gently tugged on the limb, gradually removing the person from the snow. The more of them that slip free from the ground, the more unsure I am of how to mentally grapple with what we’ve found. I guided him from the hole carefully, not wanting it to collapse on the second person, and ended up with a taller-than-average human on the ground in front of me, decked out in military gear. They lay motionless, face down on the snow, breathing hard for a moment before they started to speak.

“Hey, Artaya, what was our mission again? Discover any Feds intruding on Esquo? Well, mission accomplished because something just pulled me out.”

Scoffing at the human's reaction, I turned him over to look at his face, only to find it obscured by a large and, quite frankly, creepy helmet. “I believe the words you are looking for are ‘Thank you.’ Now just lie still until we get your companion out.” The guy sounded addled, which was honestly fair considering he’d been in an avalanche.

The human’s hand slowly crept down to the side of his hip, as he began to speak again while turning his head to focus on Veltep. “Colonel, it’s worse than I thought. The Feds have teamed up with those people-eating crocs, and somebody taught them how to wear clothes. Anytime now would be appreciated.”

The casual malice in his voice surprised me. I felt stunned for a moment, as did my sister by the look on her face. Veltep just looked furious. A rapid series of sharp barks emanated from the hole we had opened up, and before I could even ask what the fuck was going on with him, the human quickly rolled backwards into a crouched position. Precise, practiced, military. He circumvented the hole and found stable footing with ease, just as another camo-patterned white blur leaped from the hole to alight beside him. Shortly, there are now two sets of guns pointed at the three of us, one pistol in the human's hand and another strapped to a mount on the side of a massive dog-like thing with three tails? They took a few defensive steps back to put more distance between us before the canine thing barks at us while swiveling the gun back and forth. 

After a moment, it barks even louder, to which the human speaks up. “You heard the woman! Put your hands up!”

Veltep is the first to raise his hands, followed by Jana. Reluctantly, I finally raised my own. Confusion was quickly being replaced by a deep, simmering rage the longer those guns were pointed at my family. The dog-fox creature began to bark again. I might have actually leapt across the gap at that moment if I hadn’t felt the tickle of the translator in my head suddenly. It was still mostly sharp barking, but I began to almost understand it through the translator.

“W̶͈̺͙̰͑͒͛͂̀h̵̨̭̊̀̽̓̄̆̉o̵̞̹͓̦͓̞̦̬͍͉̭͜͜͜͝ ̵̥͆͛̄͑̔̕ã̷̯̱̈́͌̉͊̅̓̇̇͐͆͝r̷̤͂̔͋̈̃̿̈́͋͂͆̕ę̵̹̟͖͖̺͙̹͂̋ you a̷̛̮͇̐̏̆̈́̂̒̅̏̂̆͜ṇ̴̡̯̘͎̪̟̱̭̳̣͕̝͎̐̊͐̀̈̏̓͘͜͝ḑ̷̰̺̭̰͙̲̟̣̞̠̲̣̔̐̇̽̌̈́͋̓͐̎͑̕̚͜͝ ̴̡͍̩̻̲̼̇̓̃̒͜͠w̴̠͛̃̾̍̍̃̔̈́̽̕͝͝ḧ̵͇́͋̑͆̆̽̃̂̒͛̄̕̕͝ȳ̸̧̫̲͉̟̝̩̮̭̹̄̓̆̏̀͑̔̒͌ ̶͔̗͇̜̫̻͚̘͍̣̄̓̀̀̋̋̅̐͋̾̚͘͝͠ͅą̵̧̦͇͉́͜ͅŗ̶͖̙͔̬̫̪̹̼̪͔̹̩̙̎͐̉̅ę̵̥̝̥͙̘͎̜̩̫̽͊̍͛̽͂ ̴̢̪̥͓̬̉̎͐̂͗̆̐͒͋͗̾͌͐̑͒y̸̋̓̆͒͋̆̚͜o̷̢͕̩̝̭̟̲̜̟̺͘͘̕͜ͅu̶̗̰̳̯̭͍̱͔̹̲̿̌́̍̓̋̍͆̕͜͝͠ on  E̴̫̣̻͊̒̅͋̀̍͛̃̽s̸̛͈̈́̇͋̆̎̇͛̕͠q̵̡̢͉͔̮̳̅̍̉ủ̴͙̝̞̱̣̘̙̯̦̥̮̬͐͝o̷̹̩̺͛̄?̶̡̬̗̬͔͈͖̮̼͉̽́̓̐̾̈̽̆̔́͝ ̷̧̯̻̰̺̯̟̲̀̇ͅA̷̹̺̖͓̰͇̟̙̘͉͂̿̽̾̔̂͜n̶̨̢̨̛̳͎̜̱̯̜̗̝̦̾̒̿̐̐̕ͅs̵̨̙̝̠̜͉̔͗͒̔̌͗̅̎̇͐̀̕͜ͅw̴͓̬̤͉̄̏̓͒e̶̱̪̼͇̖͙̭̰͚̹̯͕̓͒̅̋̓̽͛̆͜ȓ̸̛̜͈̬̠͕̝̪͔̒̑̓̐̇̓̽̍͝ͅ quickly!”

‘Oh shit, is that thing sapient?’

Veltep answers for us.

“Wait, sir, please.” Veltep spoke up, worry etched into every feature as he looked over at both of us. Jana looked like she was about to have a panic attack, and I could only guess at how murderous I appeared in the moment. “We’re not Federation, and I don’t even know what an Esquo is!”

The fox- ‘Yep, definitely a massive fox. Wait, or maybe a wolf?’ … The alien canine briefly surveyed our surroundings, its helmet reflecting the sun's glare as it rotated, before momentarily glancing up at the sky. It tapped the man suddenly with a tail and began to speak again.

“Ullr,̸̢̨̩̤̺̱̬͋̈́͊͛͋̐͛̒̈́͒͝͝͠ ̷͎̮̟̣̞̹̰̹̜͎̽͜I̷̢̢͉͈̟̠͋̉̐̐͆̾̆͒̓́ ̵̨̤̭͚͔̯̬̮̺̟̮̺̌̽̈͑͜d̵͎͈̽̋͐̇͒͑͐͊̋̅̎̌̚ǫ̶͓̥̳̺͖̳͙̮͓̩̦̯̋͂͑̂̀̅̒͗͒̄͛̊n̶̜̔̒͒͂̕’̸̡̢͕̙̯̩̗̯̭̫̓̅̆̍͊͋̒̈́͗͑̓̕̚t̶̙̮̠̲̱̹̫̜̻͌̉́̔̎̀̓͐̅̑̓̀̽͘ ̴̭̝͈̒̃̓́͐͐̋̐̑̉͂͜͝t̶̞̖̠͚̻̩͍̲̉̏̌͐̇̐̚̚h̵̨̦͚̥̙͇̥̪͕͔̐̔ĭ̷̧̧̳͖͇͚̲͒͐̌͒͋͛͝n̴̳͍̔̋ͅk̵̢̗̠̹͉̖̩̯̮̠͑̔̐̀̀͂͑͜ͅ they’re lying. T̸̡͉͈̰̫̔͐h̶̨̜͇͌͑̍̋͋̈́͋̊̈̂̆͊̀ę̸̣̞͔̰̈̀̈́ ̷̻͔̍̌́̓̆̂̏͋̎̓̕s̷̜̀̽̇̚u̶̧͖͙͙͈͈͔̼̘̦̭̍͛̿̈́̐̌̿̕̕͜n̷̻̞̩͍̫͈͇̱̜̓̑́́̒̿̈́̍̓͗̏̎͗ͅ ̴̦͕͙̜͉̩͠i̸̛̼͉̫͓̔͛̏̓̀͛̑̔s̷̛̪͖̲͎̾̓̂͠ņ̷̱̣̝̦̫̤̭̟͔͑̾̏̓͒͆̈́̌̈́́̐̓̈́͜’̷̛̘̘̝͖͉̂̐̊͐̓̈́͋̈́̕ţ̸̡̥̱̜͉̼̠̯̗͖̙̮̑́͛͛̏̕ͅ Esquo’s sun. W̵̧̳̱͙̹̻͎̝̤̐͜ŗ̸̢̧͙̰̜̲̙̝̦͓̬̦̪̈́͆̈́͝o̶̡͖̲͔̜͇͐̈̈́̒̎͑̄́́n̵̪̬̮̯̝͒̾̔̍̆͑͑́̂̈́͊͠ģ̴̡͚̖̹͖͉̳͕̟̽͑̉͌̓́̀͘̕͜ size and color.”

“What do you mean, not the same sun? I don’t remember taking a shuttle ride unless, ah fuck, look at the trees! They’re not the right color either! Fuck!”

“What ḋ̵͖͍̋̒̿̂̽́̿͌͊͝͠ơ̴̡͕̹̞̠̠̥̬̥̣͉̐͗͑̆̅̾̕ë̷̖̲̱̭́̿͊s̷̻͍̤͇̝͉̠͙̼̙̿͊͋̽͛̃͜͝ ̷͓̠͎͎͛̎̋̉̉́̈́̓̿̽͝t̷̫̻͓̣̲͓̎͂͒͆̀̉̃͗͆̿́̅̈́ĥ̷̨̪̳̙̝͎͕͇͕̮͚͙̼̪͌̑͆̎̂͐̃̔̕ą̸̜͙̬͌́̅̆̽̃ṱ̴̫̙̺̠̼͗̅̓̐̇̈͜͝ mean, then? Where are we?”

Everyone remained still for several long moments. With the full-cover helmets, I couldn't get a read on them at all. My muscles twitched beneath the snowsuit, my tail held straight out behind me, as stiff as a rail. Veltep flicked his ear at me, warning me to relax. Finally, thankfully, the duo began to ease off, guns drooping toward the ground. If Jana hadn’t already been kneeling to dig, she might have collapsed as the tension left her body. Both Vel and I twitched, wanting to go to her. Those guns weren’t holstered yet, though.

“Y-you’re on Vishnu, a h-human c-colony planet.” Jana spoke up, voice wavering as she tried not to just curl up into a ball. Her hands were shaking as she gripped her knees tightly.

The human, Ullr, cocked his head, and after coming to some conclusion, finally fully lowered his gun. “Human colony planet? Like another one of the Arks?”

“N-no, it’s a UN established planet, experimenting with new colony-building techniques to share with the SC.” Jana explained, her voice getting a little more steady now that she wasn’t in front of a gun barrel.

“The SC?”

“Yes, the SC!” Veltep angrily answered Ullr with a hiss as he finally moved over to Jana. “The Spaient Coalition! What rock have you been hiding under?”

Suddenly the guns are back, trained on us as the human stiffened up. “Don’t you talk to me about hiding under a rock.” He growled. “Who is in this Coalition, and what year is it? Put it in human terms if this truly is a human planet.”

“The humans,” I growled, Ullr’s head snapping back to me along with the gun. “And Venlil, along with a few other former Feds, established it during the Federation War. By the time it became official before the war's conclusion, it consisted of 38 member species.” The human's shoulders sagged. “As for the date, it’s July 13th of 2143.”

Finally, after staring at me for several beats, Ullr shoved the gun back in its holster. Almost immediately after, he dropped back onto the snow like his strings had been cut. The canine, Artaya, moved over to him.

“Ullr, what year is ȋ̸̛͙͎̞̝́͑̿̃́̃͌͆̆́̇͜͝ṫ̸̛̤͋ ̷̙̤̭̮́̒̀͊̌̄̒͗͘͜â̸̧̟̜̦̙̦̣̺̤̱̗̇͂͋̒͝g̷̣̩̺̒a̴̧̜̹̖͕̠͕̭̟̜͚̘͝ͅi̴̢̛̛̳̞͓̬̝͉̳̫̘̹̪̥̔̈̋̿͊́̈́́̕̕̚̚͜ͅn̴͖̣̺͓̜͈̫͉̭̞̮̺̭̱̈́̊͆̎̕̕͝͠ for you?”

“2160”

“Did we?”

“Yeah…”

I left them to sit in silence. Whatever the fuck they had going on, they both seemed to be fine. Or at least without concerning injuries. My current priority was my sister. While keeping an eye on the pair, I moved over to her, crouching down and placing an arm around Jana’s shoulders. Veltep was already helping, his paws stroking her head as she pushed her face into his chest. She wasn't sobbing, at least. I was not entirely convinced that I wouldn't need to break something on Ullr for doing this to her. Maybe a hand. He could still walk off the mountain that way, and it would fuck with his ability to aim a gun at us.

“Stop.” Veltep’s voice pulled me back to reality. I met his eyes and felt a small pang of shame at the gentle reproach in them. “We’re all fine. No one has been hurt, and we’ll take care of her. That’s what matters.”

I sighed. “Fuck. Yes, okay. I’m… I’m going to need a bit is all.”

A wet chuckle sounded from below, both of us looking down at Jana. “Heh… You got scolded.” Vel let out a whistle of laughter along with my scoff. If she was already up for teasing, then she really was fine.

Ullr suddenly sprung up from the snow, sitting upright and turning his helmeted head to us. “Hey, you three didn’t happen to see a Snow Splitter anywhere nearby, did you?”

‘The fuck is a snow splitter?’

Shaking my head, I decided to be the speaker again, for now. “Before I answer that, we already answered your questions, at fucking gunpoint, so I think it’d be fair if you answer ours.” The human dropped back again, landing in the snow with a dull thump before waving his arm for me to go ahead. “Who are you two? What are you doing out here? What is she, and what is a Snow Splitter?”

I watched as he wiggled his fingers, organizing his response in his head. “My name is Captain Ullr Hoback, and this is Colonel Artaya. Both of us are on a mission on behalf of the Consortium Army. The Colonel is a Jaslip from the planet Esquo, where we were stationed. We had been in the middle of hunting the Snow Splitter, a pretty damn big woolly mammal, when an avalanche got triggered.”

“Why were you hunting it?” Jana asked abruptly, getting a tilt of the head from Ullr and Artaya.

“For food,” Colonel Artaya said simply. The translator had apparently finished with its update; her words were no longer garbled. “Which still might be an option. I can smell it. It’s on ‘Vishnu’ somewhere down the mountain.”

[Part 2]